


catch me with your fizzy smile

by brianmaybrianmay



Category: Duran Duran
Genre: Bottom John, Duran Duran Reunion, Getting Back Together, Love Confessions, M/M, References to Drugs, Reunions, Top Simon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:22:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28840824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brianmaybrianmay/pseuds/brianmaybrianmay
Summary: Four years after leaving Duran Duran, John could admit that he was nervous about meeting Simon for the first time in three years to talk about the upcoming reunion. It would probably be fine, except for the fact that he and Simon had also broken up four years ago.
Relationships: Simon Le Bon/John Taylor (Duran Duran)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5





	catch me with your fizzy smile

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading, it's been a long time since I've written for any bandoms, so I hope you enjoy!

John swallowed as he glanced over at the door of the café, sighing when he realised that the person coming through the door was just another nameless stranger. 

If he was being honest with himself, he could feel the anxiety beginning to curl in his stomach, and he did his best to try and tamp it down before he did something stupid like leave the café before Simon had even shown up. 

He was nervous, he wasn't about to lie about that much, but he knew that that was only to be expected. 

He had left Duran Duran four years ago, and honestly? He knew it had been the best decision for him at the time. He'd never imagined wanting to leave the band, but by '97, everything had just been too much. He'd done a stint in rehab to get treatment for his substance abuse, but by the time he had left the band, he was still struggling with his newfound sobriety. He knew it was the right thing to do - he was sick of feeling awful all the time, of waking up with no recollection of the night before, of feeling the need to satisfy that itch with a line of coke or an alcoholic drink at two in the afternoon. He was sick of hurting the ones he loved by barely being mentally present. 

On that subject, that was another thing he really needed to mention. Another reason why he was feeling so nervous about meeting Simon today. 

Back then, he and Simon had been.. well, by the end of it, he wasn't sure 'happy' was the word for it, but they had certainly been happy at one point. 

They had first fallen into bed together in '86, and had fallen in love by '88, and back then? They honestly _had_ been happy. He'd been in love with his best friend, they were making music together, they were on top of the world. 

He'd never thought that it all would have come crashing down like it had, but he supposed nothing good could last forever, right? 

It hadn't even come crashing down, like he'd thought it would, it was more of a gradual decline of pretty much everything, until he couldn't take it anymore. Any of it. With Duran Duran's popularity on the downslide, he had become more dependent on the drugs and the alcohol. His contributions to the band had gradually become less and less, and even when he had managed to make it to rehearsals, he certainly hadn't been sober. 

To his credit, Simon had stuck by his side throughout it all - even when he felt like he hadn't deserved it. In '94, he had finally decided to get help, and he had done a short stint in rehab at the end of the year. It was exactly what he'd needed to do, and he'd forever be grateful for the help that he'd gotten while he'd been there. And like he'd said, Simon had stuck by his side throughout all of it. 

After that, things had been.. tougher. He had assumed that things would get easier now that he was clean and sober, but he hadn't actually anticipated how difficult it would be to stay that way. Just because he had decided that he was finished with drugs and alcohol didn't mean that his body didn't crave it. He had really tried, but over the next two years, he just.. he realised that something needed to change. He didn't know how he was supposed to cope with everything that was going on, all while trying to keep his head on straight. 

So he'd done the only thing he could think to do, he'd walked away from it all. 

Leaving the band had been the hardest thing he'd ever had to do, and then leaving Simon had been even harder than that. 

It wasn't that he had fallen out of love with him, it was just.. he had needed time to try and figure out what the fuck he was doing with himself. He knew he wasn't going to be able to do that as a member of Duran Duran, and Simon had just been too close to the whole thing for him to be able to do it properly while still being with him.

The worst part was that Simon had been totally understanding over the whole thing. It wasn't hard to see that he was hurt, but there had been no fighting, no arguments. He had simply asked if walking away from their relationship was what John needed to do to get better. When he'd said that it was, there had been nothing else to say. 

He had never planned for it to be a permanent thing. He had thought a couple of months to himself would do it, that he'd be able to keep his head on straight and that things would go back to how they had been before. After a couple of months in New York though, after a couple of months away from the band, and Simon, and everything else.. he didn't know how he was supposed to go back. He was doing better by himself, and he knew in himself that he wasn't ready to go back. 

A couple of months had become a year, and then a year had become two, and then two years had become four. He had tried to keep in contact with Simon and Nick, but living an ocean away from them had just created this distance between them that he hadn't anticipated. He had honestly tried, but eventually the phone calls had been exchanged less and less frequently, and before he knew it, it had been over two years since he'd even spoken to either of them. 

That was up until a couple of weeks ago, when Simon had reached out with a proposal to put the original band back together. He'd honestly been a little blindsided at the idea, because he'd never really thought it was a possibility. He knew that Andy had wanted to do his own thing, and that Roger had been content to live the quiet life. Apparently they were both on board though, and he was the only one whose answer they were still awaiting. He understood that though - if he were Simon, he wouldn't have been too eager to reach out to his ex. To his credit though, Simon had been nothing but warm and accommodating to him. He had insisted that there was no pressure on his decision, that if he wasn't comfortable coming back, then he wasn't about to force him into it. 

At first, he hadn't been too sure. There was a reason that he had left, after all, but he just.. he couldn't help but wonder if it had been long enough. He was doing far better than he had been when he had first left the band, and so maybe it was the right time to consider coming back. Especially since Andy and Roger were both on board with it too. 

So he had called Simon back a couple of days afterwards, and had taken him up on his offer to come back. 

Like he had said, that had been a couple of weeks ago, but they had both still had a couple of commitments to see out before they were able to dive straight back into this thing. Eventually though, he'd gotten the time to fly back to England that had coincided with some free time of Simon's. He'd meet with Nick and the others soon enough, but for now, he was just here to meet Simon. 

Like he'd said though, the anxiety was starting to kick in now that he was sat here waiting for him. He hadn't even spoken to Simon in over two years, and it had been even longer than that since he'd seen him in person - their few tentative meetings since breaking up full of of awkwardness and things that they had felt they couldn't say. It was different now though, this was the beginning of something new. 

He glanced up at the sound of the bell over the door again, a slow smile spreading over his face when he realised that Simon had just walked in.

Fuck, four years, and he was still able to ignite that warm feeling in him. 

"Oi, Charley." He said with a grin as he rose to his feet, catching the other man's attention. 

Simon looked over when he heard the nickname, smiling as he caught sight of John, "Bloody hell." He huffed, smile still on his face as he approached him. To his surprise, Simon immediately pulled him in for a hug rather than bothering with any of the other tentative sort of greetings. He went easily with it, smiling as he wrapped his arms back around Simon's waist and rested his chin on his shoulder.

For a moment, they just stood like that, and he couldn't help but notice that Simon was still using the same cologne that he had been four years ago. He hadn't quite been prepared for the nostalgia that the scent would ignite in him, but he found himself having to pull away before he did anything stupid. 

"Well, you're a sight for sore eyes, alright." Simon said with a grin as he let go of him, seemingly less phased by John's presence as he was by his.

"Speak for yourself." He teased. He was glad to see that Simon looked good though. He hadn't exactly kept up with the band and how they were doing, and so he really wasn't sure what sort of state to expect Simon in today. It seemed that whatever they had been up to over the last four years had been treating him well, though. 

"Well, come on, sit." He said with a smile, a moment after realising that they had just been stood smiling at each other, "Bloody hell, it's good to see you." He said once they had both sat down at the small table, their seats at opposite sides of the table. 

"Yeah, you too. How've you been? You look good." 

"I feel good." He answered honestly, allowing himself another smile. He couldn't help but think back to the last time that he and Simon had really spent any proper time together, back when they had still been together. Things had been so different back then. He knew that he hadn't been coping well with everything that was going on, but it was only now that he could look back at the whole thing and realise just how badly he was struggling, "Really good, yeah. I'm doing much better." 

"What have you been up to?" Simon asked once he had caught a waitress who had been passing and had ordered himself a coffee, as well as a new one for John. He couldn't help but think that if this had been ten years ago, they probably would have met in a bar somewhere and would have been already deep into the bottle of whatever they were drinking. 

"Just focusing on myself, really. I've been putting a lot more effort into my solo work, getting my own albums out." 

"I heard the last one actually, it was really good." 

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Simon said with a smile, nudging his ankle underneath the table with his own, "I watched Sugar Town too." 

He groaned, running a hand though his hair as Simon laughed. He knew the film had been pretty good in the end, but it was more just the embarrassment of having it pointed out to him that Simon had watched it at all. Still, he wasn't sure what to make of the fact that Simon had been keeping up with what he'd been doing. He certainly hadn't expected it, and he felt a little bit awful for the fact that he hadn't really paid much attention to what Duran Duran were doing in return. Still, he couldn't have known. 

"What about you?" He asked, thanking the waitress when she brought them their coffees, "How have things been?"

"Good, yeah. Well.. alright, really." He shrugged, "The last two albums didn't do too well, but I'm sure you knew that." 

"I didn't, actually." He admitted, "I sort of buried my head in the sand when it came to the band. I didn't listen to the albums, I didn't read any of the reviews. I just.. I meant it when I said I was walking away from it all, I didn't want to be involved in any of it, I didn't want to know what was going on." He explained. He did feel a little bit awful for the way he had carried on just before he had left the band. He had been involved in the making of Medazzaland at the beginning, but he had walked away before the album had been finished. He knew that that had probably only made things more difficult on Nick and Simon, with having to bring in another bassist to help them finish the album. So to hear that the album hadn't done well, he did feel a little bit responsible. 

Simon hummed, trailing his fingers around the rim of his mug, "It just didn't work, y'know? We really tried with Warren, but it just wasn't the same as it used to be." 

"I'm sure the change was good for a while though, right?"

"You say that as though we were glad to see you gone." Simon teased, a small smile on his face as he glanced up at him from his cup. 

"Weren't you?"

"No. I was glad that you wanted to focus on getting better, but I was never glad to see you gone." 

He smiled then, glancing back down at his own coffee cup. He knew that today wasn't about that - that it wasn't about him and Simon on a personal level - but he couldn't help but want to just fall back into how things used to be between them. He really doubted that it could be like that though. He and Simon had had a good thing back then, and he'd been so fucking happy at the beginning of it - for most of it, actually, and it wasn't like his and Simon's relationship deteriorating had contributed to his poor mental state. Quite the opposite actually, they had called it quits on their relationship because of the shit he was trying to deal with. Deep down, he knew that they probably would have been okay if they had set out to work on things, but he just.. he had already got it into his mind that he needed to walk away from it all. By now, it was too little too late. 

Still, he hadn't had Simon in his life for four years as a result of his decision, and now he was getting a second chance. He'd take whatever he could, even if it meant remaining bandmates and nothing else. 

"Have you met Andy and Roger yet?" He asked, glancing back up at him after a moment. Like he had just said, today was about getting the band back together, it had nothing to do with himself and Simon. 

"I've spoken to them both on the phone." Simon shrugged, "I think we're going to try and get everyone together next week, Nick wants to be there too. He would have been here today, he just.. I think he knew I wanted to see you first." 

He couldn't quite keep the smile off his face then, huffing out a breath of laughter when Simon gently kicked at his ankle again. 

Alright, so despite the fact that this was supposed to be a meeting on official business, he couldn't help but feel as though they were dancing around something here. He was reluctant to draw attention to it though, in case that wasn't the case. Simon had always been an affectionate bloke - with anyone and everyone - and so he didn't want to be the first to reach out in case any genuine feelings between them had well and truly passed on Simon's behalf. Still, he couldn't really blame him - Simon was the one who had been dumped four years ago, to be fair. 

"How is Nick, actually?" He asked, worrying his lower lip with his teeth. 

That one had hurt actually, considering he and Nick had grown up together. He could still vividly remember Nick taking him to his first concert, even though he had been thirteen and Nick had been only eleven. When he and Simon had broken up, the distance between them had been a good thing in the beginning - they had both needed time away from each other to try and move on. When it came to Nick, geography had been the only reason for the distance between them. He had moved to New York, and they had just grown apart as a result of the time difference and the fact that they were so far away. Like he'd said though, they had grown up together, so he really hoped that they could just fall back into the same sort of friendship that they had had before. 

"He's good, I know he misses you though." 

"Yeah, fuck, I miss him too." 

"We'll get together with him soon. Roger and Andy too."

He smiled, dragging his fingers through his hair as he glanced back down at the cup of coffee in front of him, "Y'know, I never meant to let it get this bad." He murmured after a moment. He hadn't exactly intended to say that much, but it was out there now, "I thought.. I thought a couple of months was all I would need, maybe a year. I never planned on letting it go this long." 

"So why did you?" Simon asked. Coming from anyone else, he would have said that it sounded accusatory. He could tell that Simon was genuinely just asking him though. 

"I don't know." He answered honestly, "Like I said, I thought a couple of months away from all of it was all I would need, but then I started working on my solo stuff, I started focusing on myself without having to consider anyone or anything else. I don't know, it just felt like the first _real_ bit of freedom I'd had in years, y'know?" He explained. He was pretty sure the fact that he had moved to New York had had a lot to do with that too. If he had stayed in England, he knew things would have been different. 

Simon just nodded, a pensive expression crossing his face, "Are you _sure_ you're ready to come back?" He asked, "I mean, it sounds like you're thriving doing your own thing. I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you into coming back if you don't feel like you're ready." 

"I am ready." 

Simon raised an eyebrow in his direction, and so he just smiled and rolled his eyes, "I mean it. If you had asked me a year or two years ago, I probably would have said no. I really wasn't ready then, but I thought long and hard about my decision when you called." He told him. He really had, he wasn't about to join the band again on a whim if he thought there was a possibility that the walls would start closing in on him again in a year. If he was doing this, he wanted to do it properly, and so he knew that now was the right time. 

Eventually Simon smiled at him, and he huffed as he gently kicked him underneath the table. 

Despite the fact that meeting each other today was supposed to have been to discuss the band, he found that they actually discussed the band very little after that. 

It was nice though, they could save the shop talk for whenever they met with the other three guys. For now, he was happy to just sit and catch up with Simon, listen to what he'd been up to over the last four years. As he spoke about the previous two albums that the band had made though, he couldn't help but feel as though he had definitely made the right decision in getting out when he had. Like he'd already said, he felt awful for dropping them in hot water the way he had with Medazzaland, but he really couldn't have stuck around to see that album through. He had already been so fucking frustrated with how things were going, and he knew that attempting to actually be a part of that album would have only frustrated him even further. 

Still, Simon didn't seem too despondent about how things had turned out. He seemed to have acknowledged that whatever he, Nick, and Warren had had just wasn't working. Not that he was happy about that, but he was glad for the opportunity to come back now that things had settled down. 

While they talked though, he couldn't help but notice that Simon hadn't mentioned whether or not he was seeing somebody. He knew that it was none of his business anymore really, but he just.. he wondered. Fuck, he could have been _married_ and everything for all he knew. He hoped that that wasn't the case though, because - despite everything - he'd still want to be there for Simon on his wedding day. As much as he wouldn't have let on, he would have been pretty hurt to hear that Simon had gotten married without saying anything at all to him. Still, he wasn't wearing a ring, so he supposed that was something. Didn't mean he wasn't seeing anybody though.

"So, what brought this whole thing on?" He eventually asked. Obviously he'd been wondering, why now, after four years. 

Simon shrugged, glancing back up at him with a small smile, "It just felt like the right time. Nick was off on a trip with Julie and Tatjana so we weren't doing much with the band, and I just had a lot of free time to think about where we should go from there. Like I said, whatever we were doing with Warren, it just wasn't working out like it used to. So when Nick got back, I pitched the idea of getting the original band back together." 

"No romantic getaways of your own to keep you busy?"

"Afraid not, no." 

" _Are_ you seeing anybody?" He asked, doing his best attempt at nonchalance. Obviously he was curious, but he'd have felt a little desperate if he had jumped straight in with that. At least he'd had a bit of a segue from that topic of conversation. 

Simon just looked at him for a moment, an expression he couldn't quite figure out crossing his face, before he shrugged, "No, not right now. I was engaged last year, but it uh.. it didn't last." 

He was.. very surprised to hear that, actually. He wasn't even sure why though, because he knew it wasn't a totally unrealistic situation that Simon would have been with somebody long enough to want to marry them. Still, he assumed he would have heard something from somebody about it, "I'm sorry to hear that." He murmured, biting his lip gently, "What happened?"

"It just wasn't meant to be, I suppose. Fizzled out was all." Simon shrugged, giving him a small smile, "What about you?"

"No, I've had things here and there, but nothing really stuck. Nothing serious anyway." He explained. He'd casually dated a couple of times, but none of those relationships had ever progressed into anything serious. As it stood, his last really committed relationship had been with Simon. He was pretty sure he'd never gotten over that either - considering their reasons for breaking up had had nothing whatsoever to do with falling out of love with each other. 

Still, Simon had been engaged, so he obviously had moved on from his relationship with John. He supposed it was better that way though, less messy if they were going to be in the band together again. He couldn't quite decipher the way in which Simon was looking at him, and even though he was the one who had brought it up in the first place; he was unsure on whether he wanted to have an actual conversation about it or not. 

"Anyway, enough of that." He said after a moment. Maybe they should talk, but that wasn't a conversation to have in a busy café at three o'clock on a Thursday afternoon, "D'you want another coffee, or?" 

"D'you want to come back to the house, actually?" Simon asked, "I can make us lunch, if you're hungry. We could watch a movie and just hang out." 

"Yeah, I'd like that." He said with a small smile. He didn't really see any reason not to. He didn't have anywhere to be for the rest of the day, and apparently Simon didn't either. He knew that they'd be seeing a lot more of each other once they had gotten the band back together, but it had been four years since they had done this, so he certainly wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to spend a little more time with him, only to go home and sit in an empty flat by himself. 

It didn't take them long to reach the house once they had paid for their coffees and slipped back into their jackets. He'd been meaning to ask Simon if he had moved around at all since he'd last seen him, or if he was living in the same house. His question was answered though when they headed back towards the house that Simon had still lived in when they were together. He wasn't totally sure how he felt about that, if he was being honest. It was a gorgeous house, great location, but he just.. they had so many memories there. They used to spend Sunday afternoons holed up there together - either in the sitting room or out on the porch swing in the back garden when the weather was a little warmer. They had spent a lot of their time in the bedroom too, but he was purposely not letting himself think too much about that. 

There were the not so good memories too, though. It was in the kitchen of that house where he and Simon had broken up, the day after he had announced that he was leaving the band. He remembered being frustrated to the point of tears, while Simon had done a stellar job of holding back his own while they had tried to talk things out. He was trying his best not to think about that either, though. 

"Where're you staying, actually? While you're here?" Simon asked as he let them into the house once they had gotten there, shrugging out of his jacket just inside the door. 

"Hm?" He asked, glancing back at him, "Oh. The old flat, I never sold it." 

"What? I thought that was long gone?"

He shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets, "Like I said, I never meant to stay in New York for good. I had always planned on coming back here at some point, so I kept the flat. Just didn't turn out that way." He explained. He hadn't wanted to come back to England only to have nowhere to stay once he did, and so he had kept the flat. It wasn't a bad little place, but now that he knew he'd be spending more time here than he had in the last four years, he was thinking of maybe finally selling the flat and buying a house. He'd think about it, he hadn't decided on anything yet. 

As he followed Simon through to the kitchen, he couldn't help but mentally catalogue the parts of the house that were still the same, and the parts that had changed since the last time he was here. The walls in the hallway had been a different colour, last he remembered, and there were a few new pieces of furniture. Overall though, it seemed that not a whole lot had changed about the house, and he swallowed down the feeling of nostalgia that he couldn't help but feel.

He trailed over to the back door to look out into the garden, although he glanced back at Simon when he heard him quietly huff under his breath, "What?"

"Nothing." Simon said with a small smile, "Just.. this is usually where I would have offered you a drink." 

He smiled then, settling back against the counter as he turned around to face him fully, "Don't tempt me." He huffed. He meant that. It was easier now, but there were still times that he found it hard not to reach for the bottle. He was proud of how well he was doing though, not once had he given in and said 'sod it, one drink won't hurt', "A cup of tea would be lovely, though." 

They relocated to the sitting room once Simon had made them both a cup of tea, and he hummed in appreciation as he took his first sip from the cup. Strong, but with a hint of sweetness, exactly the way he had always taken it. It was nice that Simon had remembered. 

"How are you finding it, actually?" Simon asked as he sat next to him on the sofa, leaving the other end of the sofa and the two armchairs empty as he did, "I didn't want to get into it too much back there, but you are still off the booze, yeah?"

"Yeah, I am. It's still hard sometimes, and there are days when I'd love to just crack into a bottle of wine, but I'm a better person without all of that, y'know?" He said softly. He knew that that much was true, he wasn't sure how any of them had dealt with him towards the end, before he had decided to get clean and sober. 

Simon just looked at him for a moment, and it seemed that he was rolling the words around in his head, attempting to actually find the words for what he wanted to say. He knew the older man far too well, and at times like this, he knew it was easier to just wait it out than to try and prompt him with words of his own, "What happened, Johnny?" He eventually asked, glancing back down at his mug of tea. 

That question could have meant a lot of things, but he supposed that it was a testament to how well he knew Simon that he knew exactly what he meant. 

So he just shrugged, setting his mug on the coffee table as he turned to face him, "I don't even know where to begin." He admitted. 

"I think my problem was that I expected it to be easy." He continued after a moment, "When I eventually decided to ditch the drugs and the alcohol, I thought that I would do a little while in rehab, and then come out of it a brand new person. But it was just.. nothing really changed afterwards, except my own determination." He explained. 

"Don't get me wrong, going to rehab was exactly what I needed to do. I really don't think I would have been able to do it by myself. But in my head, I thought of it as being this magical cure all. So like I said, when I finished there, I thought that everything would suddenly be better, and.. it wasn't. Everything was exactly the same." He explained, dragging his fingers through his hair again, "The band was still under performing, I was trying to deal with us, I couldn't write a damn thing that I was happy with. The only thing that had changed was that I was sober. It was the first time in years that I'd had to face all of that with a clear head, and I really didn't know how to deal with any of it." 

That was the bare bones of it really. It wasn't that anything had really changed about the situation in general, it was just that he was clean and sober for the first time in years, and so he'd actually had to face all of the problems that they'd been having. Before, he'd been too high all the time to really let it bother him, and when it did start to get under his skin, he'd have a drink to deal with it.

Simon hummed, trailing his fingers around the rim of his own mug, "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, course." 

"Me and you. Was that real, or was it just.. I don't know, you being high and lonely?" 

He was.. very surprised by that question, actually. He supposed he understood it though. He'd been so caught up with the drinking and the drug use, and then he had walked away from their relationship once he had gotten clean and sober rather than sticking around to try and work things out. So he supposed that he could understand where Simon's uncertainty was coming from. 

"Hey." He said softly, reaching over to link his fingers through Simon's, "Of course it was real. Walking away from you was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

"So why did you?" Simon asked, "I'm not angry, I just want to understand." 

He knew he owed him that much, at least. He had tried to explain how he was feeling four years ago, but back then, everything had just been too much. He couldn't quite put it into words, and so he knew that Simon probably hadn't really understood his reasons for wanting to break up. 

"I just had to get away from all of it. The band, you guys.. it was all too much, and I suddenly didn't have a coping mechanism to deal with it all. So when I decided I needed to get away from all of it, I meant all of it." He explained, biting his lip gently as he looked down at their still joined hands, "It was never about wanting to leave you, I never wanted that. But it was all too involved, I wanted to leave the band but I don't think I could have done that if you and I had stayed together." 

Simon nodded, thoughtful expression still present on his face, although he eventually flashed a small smile in John's direction, "I can't even begrudge you for it, when it's obvious how much good it's done you." 

"I wouldn't want you to." He said with a small smile of his own, gently squeezing Simon's hand. He'd almost forgotten how beautiful he was like this - smile soft and almost shy, ducking his head slightly, "I'm sorry I hurt you." He said after a moment, "And don't say that I didn't, because I know that I did." 

"It's alright. Really. Like I said, I don't begrudge you for it." 

He smiled, glancing down at their hands as he gently rubbed his thumb over Simon's knuckles, before tugging on his hand, "Come on, hug it out." He told him with a huff of laughter, attempting to lighten the atmosphere a little. He was glad that they had talked, though, that he had finally been able to explain to Simon what he'd been thinking when he'd broken up with him. He'd done a shit job of it back then, and he knew he had hurt Simon, so it was a relief to finally get it off his chest. 

"Alright, yeah." Simon conceded, closing the short distance between them so that he could draw him into his arms.

He smiled as he wrapped his arms back around him, resting his chin on Simon's shoulder. Bloody hell, but it was nice to just hold him like this again. Everything was different now - they were older, he was in a far better place than he had been four years ago, but he really couldn't help but admit that nothing had changed in regards to how he felt about Simon. He smiled, turning his head in slightly so that his forehead rested against Simon's temple, "Christ, I missed you." 

To his surprise, Simon turned his own face in towards him too so that their foreheads knocked together, and all of a sudden they were breathing the same air, "Johnny." He whispered.

He leaned back slightly - just far enough to look Simon in the eye - as his arms slid down from around his waist so that his hands were just resting on his hips. It felt an little like they were teetering on the edge of something here, but he wanted to be totally sure that they were on the same page, "Fuck, Charley." He whispered, tilting his head slightly into the touch as Simon slid his own fingers up into his hair. 

He knew he hadn't quite been imagining the way Simon was looking at him, but he'd by lying if he said that he wasn't the slightest bit surprised when Simon closed the last of the distance between them to press their lips together in a kiss. 

His momentary surprise didn't stop him from responding to the kiss though, and he made a soft sound that he'd deny to his dying day was a whimper as he pressed forward into the kiss. 

Simon's mouth was warm and wet, and he groaned as their tongues slid together once they had parted their lips. Fuck, this was all he had wanted for the last four years. He had to admit that he was surprised though - Simon was the one who had been broken up with, Simon was the one who'd been engaged to somebody else since they had broken up, and yet Simon was the one who had initiated this between them now. He pulled back from the kiss slightly, only far enough so that he could speak, although he closed his eyes as he pressed their foreheads together again, "Simon, are you sure this is what you want?" He asked softly. He wasn't arguing, he just.. he knew today had been a lot, and he didn't want Simon to do something that he'd end up regretting afterwards. 

Simon smiled as he tucked a lock of hair behind his ear, his eyes soft as they scanned his face, "Yeah, I'm sure." 

"It's been a long time." He reminded him. 

"Four years. And there wasn't a second of those four years that I didn't still want you." 

At that, he couldn't resist leaning forward to kiss him again, bringing his own hands up to cup Simon's face between them as he did. Fuck, but he hadn't quite been prepared to hear that Simon had never stopped wanting him, despite everything that had happened. It was the same for him, but he just.. he hadn't expected the sentiment to be returned. 

Their half empty mugs of tea forgotten about, he smiled as he licked the taste out of Simon's mouth. There was a time that he remembered them both tasting vodka on each others lips, and he couldn't help the relief he felt at the fact that those days were gone.

He barely even realised that they were moving until Simon's head came to rest on the opposite armrest, and he shifted slightly to rearrange himself a little better as Simon pulled him down on top of him, "I think I need to get a new sofa." Simon mumbled against his lips. 

Pulling back from the kiss, a slightly confused laugh slipped out as he looked down at him, "What?"

"This sofa, it's really bloody uncomfortable." 

"We should probably move this somewhere a little more comfortable then." He suggested, a grin spreading over his face at the realisation of what Simon was getting at, "For the sake of your back, y'know? You're not exactly a spring chicken anymore." 

He laughed as Simon swatted at him, sliding back off the sofa out of his reach. He didn't go far though, and Simon rose with him to pull him into another kiss, "Come on, you know where the bedroom is."

He did, and so it didn't take them long to get to the bedroom. Their hands and mouths didn't leave the other for the walk there though - undoing buttons, running through the others hair, pressing kisses against exposed skin. By the time he pressed Simon up against the wall of his bedroom, he'd lost his overshirt and both of his shoes, Simon's shirt was unbuttoned, and he was busy pulling his belt out of it's loops on his jeans. 

He grinned as ground their hips together, feeling the heat curl in him at the low moan it drew from the older man, "Tell me what you want, Charley." He breathed, grin still on his lips as he gently nipped at Simon's chin. 

"You know what I want, I want all of you." Simon growled, pushing them back away from the wall. He walked them back until John's calves hit the frame of the bed, and he couldn't quite help the breathless laugh that slipped out when Simon pushed him down onto the bed.

"Wait." He said as Simon kneeled on the bed, settling back against the pillows, "Take your clothes off first." 

He grinned as Simon did what he was asked, first shrugging out of his already unbuttoned shirt, before undoing his jeans and stepping out of them too, "Christ, get over here." He breathed, teeth sinking into his lower lip as his hand moved down to close around the shape of his own cock. Thankfully, Simon didn't argue, and he crawled up the length of the bed to him, where he pulled him down into another hard kiss once he had reached him, "I want you to fuck me." He murmured as he trailed his mouth down Simon's neck. 

"Yeah.. yeah, fuck." Simon gasped, and he couldn't help the slightest pride he felt at the way he sounded almost breathless. It was nice to know that he still had that effect on the other man, "You're still wearing far too many clothes for that to happen, though." Simon reminded him, tugging on his hair so that he could pull their mouths back together. 

He pulled his t-shirt off over his head as Simon wrestled with the buttons on his jeans, and between the two of them, it didn't take them long to strip him off, "You cheeky bastard, were you expecting this to happen?" Simon asked with a grin, when he stripped off his jeans to reveal that he hadn't worn underwear underneath. 

"Happy accident." He teased, a low moan slipping out when Simon reached down to close his fingers around his cock. He honestly hadn't been expecting this to happen, he hadn't even really been hoping for it either. He was looking forward to seeing Simon today, but he hadn't been holding out any hope that something like this might happen between them. 

He dragged his fingers through Simon's hair, closing his eyes as the older man began to kiss his way down his body, leaving goosebumps in his wake wherever his mouth came in contact with his exposed skin, "Fuck, Charley." He whispered, pressing his head back into the pillow when he finally closed his lips around his cock.

God, he didn't think he'd ever get to have this again. Like he'd already told Simon, he'd casually dated people here and then since they had broken up, but it had all been just that. Casual. He'd never wanted any of them to stick around, and he'd never been terribly upset when it had inevitably ended - not like he had been when he and Simon had broken up.

Not to get sappy about it, but he was pretty sure Simon was the love of his life, and he'd been so sure that he'd fucked it up. 

He ran his fingers through Simon's hair, a slightly breathless laugh forcing it's way out when Simon glanced up at him from under his eyelashes, his gaze hot. It seemed he hadn't forgotten any of the old tricks that were guaranteed to make John squirm, working him over with his lips and tongue, the barest scrape of teeth to keep him on the edge, his fingers pressing into his hipbones hard enough to leave bruises, "Fuck, get up here." He gasped, tugging on his hair. He coaxed Simon back up to him, pressing their lips together in another hard kiss, "Don't want to come until you're inside me." He breathed. 

Simon moaned, rolling their hips together as John wrapped a leg around his hips. Fuck, he would have been more than happy to get off like this, rocking against each other until they pushed each other over the edge, but he really wasn't sure where they were going to go from here. He knew that there was no guarantee that this wouldn't be a one-time thing, just to get the other out of their systems one last time, so he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to do this right. 

"Come on, Simon." He pleaded, leaning up to chase Simon's mouth as he pulled away from him. 

"Yeah, hang on." Simon insisted, sounding almost breathless as him as he leaned over to rummage in his nightstand. 

He leaned over to press his mouth to exposed skin again as Simon continued to search for presumably condoms and lube, trailing his lips and tongue over the slope of his shoulder. God, he had always been obsessed with Simon's body, and it seemed that nothing had changed about that, despite the four years of distance that they had had from each other. 

Eventually Simon found what he was looking for, and he turned back to John to press their lips together yet again. It didn't take long for the kiss to turn filthy, and he moaned as Simon sucked on his tongue, moving his hands up to frame the other man's face between them as they kissed, "Fuck, Charley.. I never stopped loving you." 

Simon stopped then, pulling back from the kiss just enough so that he could look down at him. Fuck. He hadn't meant to suddenly call a halt to this, and he had a bad feeling that the entire situation had just become a little too real for Simon. Maybe he had meant for this to be nothing more than a quick roll in the sheets, maybe he hadn't anticipated that John would still be in love with him. After a moment though, his face softened, and he smiled as he reached out to brush John's hair back from his face, "Yeah?" He asked softly. 

"Yeah." He mumbled, doing his best to look anywhere but at Simon's face. He wasn't sure that he could take whatever it was that was on his face. It was already out there though, so he knew that there was no point in trying to change the subject, "Still love you."

To his surprise, Simon turned his face back towards his, leaning down to kiss him again. This kiss was softer though, sweeter, and he draped his arms around his neck as their lips moved together, "I love you. I never stopped either, you need to know that." 

He smiled, swallowing thickly as he reached up to brush his fingertips gently against Simon's cheek. He barely knew what to say, but he was relieved to see that Simon didn't seem to be waiting on him to say anything. God, how had he been so stupid? Obviously the time away from the band and everything else had done him the world of good, but how could he have ever thought that walking away from Simon would be a good thing? 

Thankfully, he wasn't left to dwell on it for too long, as Simon ducked back down to press their lips together in another quick kiss, "I believe we were in the middle of something?" He asked, and he could tell that there was a teasing grin on his lips as he gently tugged at his lower lip with his teeth. 

It didn't take long for the urgency to kick back up, and his fingers frantically searched for the bottle of lube as Simon nipped his way down his neck, "Come on, Charley." He whined. 

"Alright, yeah." Simon breathed, sitting back once he had retrieved the lube from where it had fallen underneath a cushion, pouring it over his fingers once he had clicked the lid open. He leaned down to press his mouth to John's collarbone, dragging his tongue over the thin skin over the bone as he slowly pressed a finger into him, "It's alright." He murmured, nudging his nose gently against his neck. 

He took a deep breath through his nose, closing his eyes as he pressed his head back into the pillow again. Fuck, it had been far too long. Like he'd said, there had been other people since he and Simon had broken up, but he'd never actually been fucked by any of them. As it stood, Simon was the only person that he had ever let fuck him.

He was glad that Simon didn't seem to be in any rush here though, and he took his time in slowly working two and then three fingers into him once he was sure that he could take it, until he was panting and pushing back against his fingers. Christ, four years, and Simon still had exactly the same effect on him that he had always had, "I'm ready." He insisted, a gasp caught in his throat as he dragged his fingers through Simon's hair again. 

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, come on." 

Simon still looked slightly hesitant - as though he wasn't quite sure whether to believe that he was ready or not - and so he figured he'd just take matters into his own hands. Once Simon had pulled his fingers out, he used his weight to roll them over until he could straddle Simon's hips, leaning down to kiss him briefly as he reached for the condom, "Taking your bloody time." He teased with a grin as he tore open the foil packet, quickly rolling the latex down over Simon's cock. He slowly stroked his cock with a lube-wet hand, grinning at the moan his action drew from the older man. 

God, but he really was beautiful like this. Flush high on his cheeks, teeth sunk into his lower lip, hair tousled. He'd be happy to sit here and just look at him all day, if there weren't more pressing issues at hand, "Last chance to back out." He murmured, fitting the palm of his hand around his cheek to get him to look at him. 

Simon rolled his eyes, dropping his own hands to his hips, "You're crazy if you think I'd back out now."

He grinned for a moment, before raising up slightly as he reached back to steady Simon's cock, his other hand holding onto the headboard to brace himself against it. He closed his eyes as he slowly sunk down, doing his best to focus on the sound of Simon's low moan to distract himself from the dull burn as he slowly worked himself down onto his cock. Fuck, but four years was a long time, and he was certainly feeling it now. 

He let out a breath that he didn't realise he'd been holding when he eventually bottomed out, his fingers curling where they rested on Simon's bare chest. 

"Are you alright?" Simon asked, sounding almost as breathless as he felt, gently smoothing his hands up his sides. 

"Yeah, I'm- just give me a second."

"Am I hurting you?"

"A little." He admitted, with a breathless huff of laughter, "It's alright, it'll pass." 

He closed his eyes, focusing instead on the way Simon gently trailed his fingers along his waist, on the sounds of his harsh breathing. He knew it wouldn't take him long to adjust to the stretch, and eventually he could feel the burn beginning to fade into something a little more bearable. He knew it was probably taking everything Simon had in him to not just roll them over and pick the pace up himself, and so he appreciated the fact that he was keeping still and giving him the moment he needed to adjust. 

Eventually he opened his eyes to look down at Simon, teeth sinking into his lower lip as he gave an experimental rock of his hips. Christ, he could even feel the dull burn of pleasure just from that, and he shifted slightly so that he could raise himself up properly, a moan forcing it's way out from both of them as he dropped back down. 

"Jesus Christ, Johnny." Simon gasped, his fingers pressing in hard where they were still resting on his hips. 

He braced one hand on the headboard behind Simon's head, the other coming to rest on Simon's chest as he began to rock his hips, fingers pressing down where they rested at his collarbone. Fuck, he and Simon had always been good in bed together, and it seemed that not a lot had changed in that respect. Back when they had still been together the first time, they had had a lot of time to perfect their technique together, and Simon obviously hadn't forgotten exactly how to press his hips up into him to make him see stars, or how he liked his hair to be pulled, or the tender spots on his hips to press his fingers to. 

They moved together, slowly dragging each other closer and closer to the edge. He could feel the heat curling at the base of his spine, only intensified by the feeling of Simon's hands on his body as he held on for the ride. Fuck, he'd missed this, and it seemed that Simon had too if his reactions were anything to go by. Christ, but he was beautiful like this. The pleasure that he was feeling was obvious on his face, in the way his hands shook as they gripped his hips, in the way his breath hitched when he circled his hips in a way that took him particularly deep. 

"God, missed this." He grunted, hanging his head slightly as he moved. 

He was slightly caught off guard when Simon suddenly pushed himself into more of a sitting position rather than lying down, sliding his arms properly around his waist to haul him closer, "Christ, Charley." He moaned, closing his eyes again as Simon slid a hand into his hair and used the grip to pull his head back slightly, exposing his throat. 

"You've got no idea how badly I've wanted this." Simon gasped, scraping his teeth against the taut tendon of his neck before pressing his lips to the spot just above his collarbone, sucking at the thin skin hard enough to leave a mark, "Fuck, you're so beautiful."

He could only moan in response, draping his own arms around Simon's neck to hold him close as they moved together. 

It wasn't long before he could feel himself teetering right on the edge, and he pulled Simon up by the hair to press their lips together in a messy kiss. It didn't take much more before they could only pant into each others' mouths, and he was beginning to see stars at the edge of his vision, "Fuck, Simon.. touch me." He whined, gasping against his mouth when Simon thrusted his hips up particularly hard. Thankfully, Simon did what he was asked, and he dropped one hand down to wrap his fingers around his cock, the other hand still pressed to the back of his neck to hold him close. 

A handful of strokes was all he needed to push him over the edge, and he knocked his forehead against Simon's as he came, his entire body jerking forward into Simon's touch. Through the mind-bowing pleasure of his orgasm, he could just about make out the way Simon dropped his head back with a choked moan of his own as he reached his own climax, fingers digging in where they still held onto the back of his neck. 

He wasn't sure how long it was before he felt as though he'd come back down to earth, and he glanced down at Simon with a slightly breathless huff of laughter. Simon looked just as thoroughly fucked out as he felt, hair tousled and gaze soft as he looked up at him, "Come here." He told him - and if he hadn't just had the best orgasm he'd had in a long time, he would have been ready to go again at the throaty rasp of his voice. 

Carefully lifting himself up and off Simon, he collapsed back next to him after a quick attempt to clean them both up with the corner of the sheet. He went easily with it as Simon coaxed him back into his arms, closing his eyes as he tucked his head into the crook of his neck, "Pretty fucking great." He said with a grin, gently nudging his nose against the soft skin underneath Simon's jaw. 

Simon only hummed in response, his touch soft as he carded his fingers through John's hair. They could get up to properly clean off and get dressed in a couple of minutes. Right now, he was warm and comfortable and Simon was touching him tenderly, the fingers of his other hand idly trailing along his bare shoulder. 

He hadn't realised how exhausted he suddenly felt until this very moment, Simon's comforting touch and familiar scent lulling him to sleep.

.

When he came to, it took him a moment to realise why he didn't immediately recognise his surroundings. 

It didn't take him long to remember that he was in Simon's bed though, and he swallowed thickly as he dragged a hand through his hair. Well, fuck. He certainly didn't have any regrets about what had happened, but he just.. he couldn't help but notice that he'd woken up alone - that Simon was nowhere to be seen.

He was pretty sure that they'd both been on the same page, Simon had wanted this just as much as he obviously had, and while he had initially seemed a little taken aback when he had admitted that he was still in love with him, he hadn't hesitated in admitting that he still loved him too. He hadn't thought twice about his words, he hadn't seen any reason to, but now he realised that it could have been just a heat of the moment thing. They had all said things in the throes of passion that they didn't really mean, hadn't they? Who was to say that that wasn't exactly what Simon had just done. What if the older man had realised that too, and had made himself scarce in the hopes that he'd get the message. 

Still, he knew there was no use speculating. It wasn't like he and Simon would now just go their separate ways and never speak of this afternoon again. They were getting the band back together, they were about to be seeing a whole lot more of each other. Besides, neither of them were kids anymore. Personally, he was over the whole dancing around the issue thing. He wanted things out in the open, and if Simon really didn't want anything more from him than a quick roll in the sheets, then he'd just have to deal with that. 

A quick glance at the clock on the nightstand told him that he had only been asleep for forty-five minutes or so, and so he supposed that was something. He was hoping that Simon was still in the house, but even if he wasn't, he was sure he couldn't have gone far. 

He quickly pulled his jeans and t-shirt back on, forgoing his overshirt mainly because he was pretty sure it was still out in the front room somewhere. There wasn't much he could do about his hair right now, other than attempt to flatten it down a little, but he supposed that that wasn't exactly important right at this moment. 

He trailed back out to the front room, where he found Simon mid-yawn, in the process of sinking down onto the sofa, "Hey." He said softly, looking over at him.

He could smell something cooking out in the kitchen, and he'd actually completely forgotten about the fact that Simon had invited him back to the house in the first place so that they could have lunch together. If he was being honest, he could eat - his stomach growling at the smell of whatever it was that Simon had cooked - but he'd wait to see what the outcome of this conversation would be before deciding on whether to stay for lunch or not. Whatever the outcome was though, he was determined to keep things civil and friendly between them - for the sake of the band, if nothing else. 

"Look, Charley-" He started. 

"I think we should talk, Johnny." 

He just looked at Simon for a moment, attempting to decipher the expression that he was currently wearing. Simon had always been the type of person to wear his heart on his sleeve, but right now, he was finding it pretty impossible to figure out what was running through his mind. So he just nodded, moving over to sit on the coffee table in front of where he was sat on the sofa, "What's on your mind?" 

"Have we made a huge mistake?" Simon asked, anxiously toying with the sleeve of his jumper as he spoke. He'd only been wearing a shirt earlier, he must have grabbed the jumper on his way out when he'd gotten up earlier, "I mean, we're only just getting the band back together. All five of us haven't even met up yet - and I know Nick will personally string us both up if we fuck this up before it's even gotten off the ground."

"I don't think so." He said honestly, shrugging his shoulders. He didn't see any reason to try and talk around the subject or to try and approach it tentatively, "I meant what I said. I love you. But I know it's been a long time, and I know that some things can't be fixed by just jumping back into bed together. So I'm not- I won't be angry if this isn't what you want." He said softly, attempting a small smile that he hoped reassured Simon of his words. He meant it, he wouldn't be angry, "We had a good thing before, and if I fucked it up then that's on me, and I'll accept that. But I still feel the same as I did back then, and I'll spend every day of the rest of my life trying to make it up to you, if you'll let me. Time, or distance, or anything like that will never change how I feel about you. But I'm not willing to lose you again. So if you don't want this, or if you want to just focus on the band, I understand, and we can forget today ever happened and just go back to being friends." 

He usually wouldn't have been so straightforward, and he honestly couldn't remember the last time that he had just laid all of his cards on the table like he just had, but he just.. like he'd said, he wasn't willing to lose Simon again. They had spent four years without each other, and now they were finally back in each others' lives. He'd take that in whatever shape or form that he could - be it as bandmates and friends, or be it as something more than that altogether. He was still so fucking in love with Simon though, and so he couldn't not put his cards on the table. 

Simon just looked at him, and he worried for a moment that he may have overstepped, before the older man smiled and ducked his head slightly, "Did you forget, or are you choosing to ignore the part where I said that I still loved you too?" 

He shrugged, scratching a hand through his hair, "Could have been in the heat of the moment." He shrugged, "We've all done it before." 

"Not this time." Simon murmured, biting his lip gently as he looked over at him, "I meant it too. I'm still so in love with you, and I'd be a fool to let you go again." 

He smiled, reaching out to take Simon's hand and gently squeezing his fingers, "I'm sorry I've been so stupid."

"What have I already told you? If you hadn't walked away from it all back then, would you have been able to get better?"

"I don't know." He answered honestly, rubbing his thumb gently over Simon's knuckle, "I don't think so." 

"So, there." Simon said with a smile, reaching up with his free hand to brush his fingertips against John's cheek, his smile softening when he leaned into the touch, "It'll be better this time." He promised, sliding his hand around to cup his cheek properly in his hand. 

He smiled, covering Simon's hand with his own as he turned his face in to press a kiss to the palm of his hand. He hoped that that was the truth, that things would be better this time around - both with the band and with his and Simon's relationship. As he'd said though, things had never actually gone sour with him and Simon the first time around, and so he knew the other man had been a little blindsided when he had made the decision to break up with him. He was in a better place now though, one where he felt he could actually deal with anything that came their way. Not like before - when every bad review or snide comment would feel like a slap in the fact that he didn't know how to deal with.

"Come here." He said with a smile, leaning forward to press their lips together. His smile turned to a laugh though when Simon wound his arms around his neck and pulled him down onto the sofa with him. He shifted slightly to the side of him, leaving his legs draped over Simon's lap as he leaned in to kiss him again.

He was pretty sure he'd never get tired of this, of feeling Simon's smile against his lips as he kissed him. He knew he'd been stupid to willingly let this go four years ago, but he stood by his reasons on why he'd needed to walk away, and thankfully Simon understood that it hadn't been just that he didn't want to be with him anymore. 

He threaded his fingers through Simon's hair, humming low in his throat at the feeling of their tongues sliding together. Hauling him slightly closer, Simon cupped his jaw in his hand as they kissed, tilting his head a little better into the kiss. Distracted by Simon's tongue in his mouth, he didn't notice the sound of the front door opening and then shutting, not until the door to the sitting room opened anyway.

"Simon, you in?" Nick called as he stepped into the sitting room, "How did- _oh, for God's sake._ " He stopped when he realised Simon wasn't alone, rolling his eyes at the sight of them wrapped up in each other on the sofa.

"Alright, Nicky?" He asked as he pulled away from Simon, slightly sheepish smile on his lips. 

"Really? It's been four years, and you can't go one day without sticking your tongues down each others throats?"

"I'll spare you the details then of what else was stuck where." 

He laughed as Nick rolled his eyes again, holding his hands up to stop him from saying anything further, "I don't want to know." He insisted, walking back out to the kitchen. 

He glanced at Simon with a grin that he couldn't quite hold back, the two of them sharing a quiet laugh at the situation. He hadn't any intention of keeping this a secret from their bandmates. He and Simon had always been open about their relationship back when they were last together, and he had every intention of keeping it that way this time around. He just.. hadn't intended for Nick to walk in with their hands all over each other. Especially the first time that he'd even seen Nick in years. 

Still, he supposed it was an effective way of letting them know that he and Simon were back together. He didn't doubt the news would reach Andy and Roger soon enough. 

He glanced over as the phone rang out in Simon's hallway, smiling when the older man dragged his fingers through his hair, "Go talk to him, I should get that." He told him, pressing a kiss to the top of his head as he stood. 

He followed Simon out to the hallway, although he continued on through to the kitchen while Simon stopped to answer the phone. He attempted a smile as he let himself in to the kitchen, finding Nick leaning against the counter with his arms folded, "Surprise, I suppose." He said with a soft huff of laughter. 

"I know Roger and Andy aren't even here, but I think I can comfortably speak for them both when I say that we've all caught you and Simon in far too many compromising positions. I think we'd all appreciate it if that didn't become the case again." Nick pointed out, although he was relieved to see that he didn't actually look angry with him.

"Can't promise anything, we've a lot of catching up to do." He teased, grinning as Nick rolled his eyes and approached him for a hug. He let himself be pulled in, bending slightly to rest his chin on Nick's shoulder as he hugged him, "Missed you, Nicky." 

"We've missed you too." Nick replied, patting him on the back for a moment before letting him go, "How are you?"

"I'm great, yeah. I'm doing really well." 

"Good. I just stopped by to ask Simon how this afternoon with you went, but I think I can hazard a guess and say that it went well." 

He laughed, leaning back against the opposite counter as he shoved his hands in his pockets, "Yeah, you could say that, I suppose." He said with a grin, glancing back at Simon as he let himself in to the kitchen after the two of them. 

Obviously he'd had his reservations about this entire thing when Simon had first called him - he hadn't been sure what to expect from meeting with him again, or meeting with Nick and the others, or trying to get together as a band and write decent songs. It could have all gone horribly wrong from the get-go, obviously there was no guarantee that all five of them would be able to function as a single unit these days. They were far from the five kids that had gotten together back in 1978, each of them had grown up into a different person. Plus there was the fact that he and Simon had been ex-lovers on top of everything else. There was a lot that could have gone wrong. 

Now though, as he flashed a quick wink at Simon - earning a warm smile in response - he couldn't help but feel that they were definitely going to be alright. 


End file.
